Sony Ericsson has decided to put its manufacturing muscle behind Android while keeping a "watching brief" on the development of Microsoft's still nascent Windows Phone 7.

Steve Walker, acting head of global marketing at Sony Ericsson, told Pocket-lint that although Sony Ericsson launched a number of phones running on Windows Mobile 6, it will not be launching a Windows Phone 7 device in the near future. Instead, the company will continue to "engage with Microsoft" and "keep an open mind towards Windows Phone 7."

Walker noted that Sony Ericsson wants to focus on Android since the industry as a whole seems to be supporting Google's mobile OS. However, he was also quick to point out that there are a number of different ecosystems and it is likely that only some of them will "prevail." Clearly, Sony Ericsson has read the tea leaves and decided that Android is one of those "ecosystems."

Sony Ericsson has not always done the bestjob of ensuring that its devices are running the latest and greatest version of Android. However, Walked pointed out that Sony Ericsson did not anticipate their customers' reaction to delayed Android releases and said that SE's first year with the Android OS has been a "learning experience." Additionally, Android Police was informed at CES 2011 that Sony Ericsson will be committed to keeping its future Android smartphones up to date. Let's hope they are able to stay true to their promise and keep their phones up to date.

Comments

I think that's their plan. I'm sure I heard that somewhere. Pretty much vanilla, with their apps installed on top. Sounds good to me. :)

three_pineapples

Haha. "Walked pointed out that Sony Ericsson did not anticipate their customers’ reaction to delayed Android releases "

Funny that they just presumed it would be ok (I remember them saying no one would care).

naowyzer

Only time will tell. I tell all my friends who's going android to stay away from Sony and Samsung. They are amazing tech companies but are horrible at updating their android phones. Such a shame.

Transformer

Liveview is a cool SE Android accessory that essentially lets you wear you smartphone on your wrist (connected through bluetooth). Too bad it simply doesn't work for other Androids than SE's own, but retailers will not tell you so. Firmware upgrade has been promised, but given SE's history of delivering on time ... :-(

xperia x10 owner

The last paragraph says it all. First, they own up they are not doing their best job keeping their Android phones updated with the latest version of Android. Then they say didn't expect customer reactions towards delayed Android updates for their phones and take the first year as learning experience. Last but not least, ended by saying that the company is committed to keeping future Android Smartphones up to date.

So we first generation Sony Ericsson Android phones owners become the stepping stones for the company to learn a lesson. Well done. I believe a lot of us first generation owners also learn an important lesson - never buy another SE smartphone because the os updates are always outdated by the time we receive it and we are here so that the company can learn from experience for future phones release.